Machines. Intelligent creations made by humans. They have consistently tended to upgrade throughout history. Started as a simple light source, and then eventually kept evolving until it reached to the point of having its own term as intelligence. AI, shortcut for: Artificial Intelligence. Now that those electronic devices have their own brains, the question begs to be answered.
What's the difference between a robot and a man?
Humans have flesh and blood. Robots can't bleed nor feel pain, but they certainly can stop working. Technically, that means they could die just like us. Humans have brains to think. Robots also possess their own intelligence, which surpasses that of humans. You and I would guess that they're superior to us, but that's not it. There are two major differences.
They only follow orders. We humans follow and instruct.
We decide by using logic and emotional feelings. We use our brains and hearts. I said before that machines have their own brains, but that's not exactly it. They're just knowledgeable. Not thinkers. They can't just create a new invention when none of their ideas are even original. They're just stored data. What was the other difference? Yes. The heart.
If a man were ordered to kill someone beloved to him, let's say his very own mother. And he has the gun pointed at her. Would he pull the trigger? Surely not. Of course, there are rare cases where they'd do it. It solely relies on the person's decisions. Suppose the same for machines. If it was ordered the same. Shoot their own owner who kept them for half a decade. This one doesn't have alternatives. It'd shoot without hesitation. At the end of the day, it was ordered. This subject may be useless for now, but in the near future, it'll show its value.
The year is.. unknown. Four men are spotted inside one of the rooms of an abandoned hotel. One of the men is seen shivering in his seat. He's wearing a suit and appears to be in his mid-40s. His hair is a buzz cut and his body is overweight. The man keeps glancing at the only empty chair in the room.
"What seems to be the matter, Brick?" One of the men asked the unhealthy gentleman. "I highly doubt you're worried about your guest. Do you think he could've sold you out?"
"N-No, that's not it. The d-deal we're about to make.. is too dangerous. If anybody finds out-"
"Relax, will you?" He interrupted. "Even if he did sell you out and some big shots are after you, you hired three bounty hunters to protect you."
Brick finally looked up from the vacant seat and stared at the source of the voice. The man sitting on the couch in front of him is known to be one of the most famous bounty hunters. 'Desiderius' the beast. The bounty hunter's eyes are plain brown, and his hair is blackish. But the unique part about his appearance is his eyepatch. He's wearing it on his right eye.
Next to him, on the same couch, is his brother. The power-hungry, 'Maxos'. He pretty much looks identical to his brother except his features are softer and both of his eyes are well. And he doesn't seem to be the serious type, considering he's sound asleep at the moment.
The third bounty hunter is standing in the corner. He's not related to the brothers, but they seem to be more friendly lately. His blonde hair is tied into a ponytail, and his ocean eyes are staring ahead. Not giving a care about anything right now. Brick has seen the man's strength and potential first-hand, but he hasn't made a name for himself yet. He's called Sean.
"You're right.. Maybe I'm just being paranoid." After a few seconds of thinking, Brick finally gave a reply.
'Too paranoid.' Thought Desiderius. They have been around Brick's ass for some time now. He has seen them eliminate a bunch of powerful threats with almost no struggles. Yet, he's doubting them. Who could possibly frighten Brick that much?
'He even has almost a hundred bandits outside securing the area.'' Desiderius gazed through the only window in the room, looking outside at the man standing with a rifle. Even if Etostria sends their strongest agent, they'd tire out before reaching us. What's the reason behind Brick's anxiety..?
Riiiing
Brick's phone started ringing, which caused him to yelp. Sean and Desiderius glanced at it. Surprisingly, Maxos is still snoring. Is that a bubble sticking out of his nose?
Brick almost tripped due to how fast he moved to get that call. That was the fastest action the hunters saw him do. Expecting the guest's number, Brick got worried again when he recognized it as one of his men.
"Hello?"
"B-Boss.. We need backup! There's a man single-handedly killing every single one of us!"
"Don't let him through no matter what! Or else I'll personally kill you all myself!"
"Y-Yes, sir! We'll.. We'll try our be- Augh-!"
The call ended. Due to how loud both of them were, both hunters were able to make out everything. Brick slumped back to his seat. Instead of being scared, he's looking more depressed. Unintentionally, Desiderius and Sean glanced at each other.
"We're all doomed.." The overweighted man kept blabbering about doom and misery. Desiderius can't believe how pathetic Brick actually is. Some bandits were assassinated, so what? They can't even handle a trainee, let alone a soldier.
"Can you shut the fuck up for one second?" At last, the sleepyhead woke up. Although he's irritated. "I swear to god, a kid would be calmer than your wimpy ass!"
Desiderius decided to turn his attention to anything other than this commotion. Gazing back at the window, this time was different outside. Instead of the guard standing with his rifle, he's lying on the ground. A man standing over him, looking at nowhere in particular. Desiderius narrowed his eyes, trying to make out his appearance.
'..No way..'
Long blackish hair, reaching all the way to his neck. Dark-toned clothing. Black cloak. And the most remarkable part about his outfit is his mask. A snow white mask with the painted hand over the mouth area, as if to silence it. No one matches this description. No one but him.
"Change of plans. We're leaving."
My choice of words did not seem to please Maxos in the slightest. Sean also raised an eyebrow, noticing the sweat that was running down my face. Moving to my side, he stared ahead toward that man. Examining his features.
"The hell? What the fu-"
"Desiderius is right. We have to leave immediately." Sean interrupted Maxos' rampage. Maxos was astonished, but moreover, furious. "Pack anything you need, Brick. Actually, don't. We don't have time for that, let's just go-"
"Stop right this fucking second! I didn't stay here for three hours just to run away when someone finally comes!" ..It was half an hour, and you were sleeping the whole time. "Why do both of you look so horrified? He can't be that strong."
Sean was dumbfounded. I can't blame him. After all, who in this world doesn't know about the infamous 'Son of Hell'? But I take responsibility for that. I never educated Max enough.
"I'll inform you about the details later. All you need to know right now is that he's on par with the eleven elites." The eleven elites are the highest authority in Etostria. Which left Maxos stunned. But still, he's against retreating.
"Let's just go. Finish your study session later." Seeing that no one was moving, Sean decided to head to the door. As soon as his hand grabbed the handle, a sword pierced through the door. Which stabbed Sean in the stomach.
"S-Sean!"
Brick's screams never reached Sean's ears. Blood ran down from the two corners of his lips. The sword retreated, and Sean fell limp to the floor. Looking for an exit, Desiderius grabbed both his brother and his boss and jumped out of the window. Glass shattered everywhere. Once they hit the ground, Maxos and Brick fell unconscious. Desiderius, having one leg broken due to the impact, started crawling while holding them. The figure watched them from the broken window.
—
Shit..Shit..Shit
How long have I been running? Pardon me, I meant crawling. I can't believe how my leg broke from a mere five-floor jump. Even Max fell unconscious. In his defense, he wasn't prepared. So that could slide.
But that's not important at the moment. We need to leave this land as soon as possible. That assassin didn't chase us, probably giving us a head start. I'd be pissed if it were anybody else. But right now, I'm glad we got a chance to flee. No one faced him and lived long enough to tell the tale.
I felt some rustling. Glimpsing, I noticed Maxos started gaining his consciousness. He'd probably be furious about the situation we're in right now. But I couldn't care any less about his feelings. Our lives are in the line.
"..Brother.."
"Can you walk?" I asked him. If he can, that'd be beneficial. "If you can, then hurry up. You'll have to lift me and Brick up. I broke a leg."
He looked worried for a second. But once his memories flushed in, that worry turned into anger.
"You.. What the hell were you thinking?! I never thought you'd be the suicidal type!"
"If I were suicidal, I'd have confronted him head-on. You saw what happened to Sean, didn't you?"
"And jumping off a window is considered normal?"
"That's called survival instincts. Now shut up and hurry.. Before.."
While we were arguing, a shadow crept up from behind us. I looked slowly to my side. There he was. Passing by. His breathing is calm, which means he didn't even run after us. He merely walked. I held my breath. Scared to make any noise.
'Maybe.. He can't.. See us..?'
I inwardly wished that. My wish might have come true. He continued walking, never giving us a single glance. I let out the breath that I held. But he seems to be holding something. Or rather.. Someone..
'Is that-'
Looking to my other side, I didn't find Brick. He has him. And judging by the fact that he doesn't care about us, means he's only here for that drug dealer. We managed to somehow survive. Although I wonder, why would he even come for-
"Where the fuck do you think you're going?"
The assassin stopped. Looking back at Maxos. His calculating gaze roamed around him and me.
"I'm taking this guy with me."
"Like hell you are! That man's paying us to kill your kind!"
"Is that so? I don't think that's a fact for your sibling, though."
Without a warning, Maxos let out a war cry. Raising his axe, he attacked the man. Suddenly, he paused. And fell face to the ground, with a slash of blood across his torso. The man.. Didn't seem to have moved an inch.
"Max.." ..He's not moving.. "Hey! Hey, Max! Stop fooling around! He's not targeting us, so let's go! Maxos! Answer me, you idiot!"
My eyes are starting to get teary. My brother is dead. The one that I was supposed to protect. I glared back at the man. Even though all I could see was his eyes, I could catch some emotion. He didn't look remorseful nor angry. He was disappointed. That made my blood boil even more.
"I was hoping I wouldn't have to kill both of you. But considering the fact that he's your brother, I'm pretty sure you'd want to avenge him. Right?" I nodded.
Whether I live or die doesn't matter to me at the moment. If I live, I managed to avenge Max. If I die, I'll see him again. But fate has been decided already.
After all, I can see a dark figure with a scythe standing behind my murderer.